YES! Music Picks: Winter 2012

Musical inspiration while putting together the Winter 2012 issue.

posted Nov 01, 2011

Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down

This is the sound of the venerable Ry Cooder stamping his feet. Song by song he gives a whipping to greedy bankers and war profiteers and offers a few soulful songs of immigrants and general hard times. In the Guthrie/Seeger vein, “No Banker Left Behind” offers Wall Street protesters an anthem.

Ukulele Songs

On tour in Hawaii, Eddie Vedder went out for beer and came back with a ukulele. Here, Vedder’s voice is unleashed from the tidal wave sound of Pearl Jam. With that growl balanced bravely on only four strings, he has created something improbable and lovely.

The Bridge School Concerts: 25th Anniversary Edition

The nonprofit Bridge School for kids with communications disorders has been Neil Young’s charity of choice for 25 years. This offers performances from his annual benefit concerts: a long lineup of musician friends often performing with him.

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